The present invention relates generally to techniques for building web-based content, and more particularly to techniques and tools for the automated generation of a website optimized for mobile devices based on an existing website.
Of the over half billion websites that exist today, most were designed and developed for viewing by, and interaction with, users via a traditional computer device—that is, a desktop or laptop computer having a relatively large display screen and a traditional QWERTY-type keyboard. In the past, such computer devices connected to the Internet first via wired connections, and then later more often via wireless connections. During this time, use of computer devices grew exponentially while simultaneously computer hardware grew smaller, faster, and more powerful. More recently, the addition of data connectivity capability to cellular phones, resulting in what is known as the “smartphone”, has transformed not only the phone industry but also the rate of communication between such users and their accompanying expectations of such devices. Smartphone users now connect directly to the Internet and demand the same capabilities they would have had were they browsing the Internet using a traditional computer.
Recent research has suggested that at the end of 2011, more than 85% of all cell phones were connected to the Internet, with mobile data traffic expected to double every year for several years thereafter, and that by 2016, connections to the Internet via smartphones are predicted to outpace connection by desktop computers. The implications for business owners who want to be found on the Internet by customers, especially in local markets, will be profound.
The traditional website designed for viewing on a desktop or laptop often involves the download of a significant amount of data in order to capitalize on the relatively large amount of viewing space on the screen, and to implement interactive functionality, animations, video, and/or sound to attract visitors to the website. Websites designed for the traditional computing device can get away with such large data transfer due to the typically high-bandwidth data communication link that such devices use. However, while technology has certainly advanced to allow for increasingly greater data bandwidth and speed, the demand for data, both in terms of volume and speed, has still outpaced the current available communication link technologies. These considerations, coupled with the different physical attributes of the typical cell phone, such as its smaller screen size, smaller or even non-existent keyboard, and typically slower data communication link, require an owner of a website to at least consider creating a mobile-ready website that is optimized for mobile devices.
As mentioned, a typical mobile device such as a cell phone or pad computer, includes features, such as connection speed, user input mechanisms and screen size, that are fundamentally different than such features provided in a traditional computer device. Considering first the slower data connection that most mobile devices have in comparison to their desktop and laptop counterparts, in a mobile website it is desirable to reduce the amount of data required to be downloaded for each web page in order to provide a better response time when a user requests the web page. In addition to designing the mobile website to download less data, mobile websites may provide different user input controls than the traditional website. The traditional website typically includes navigation buttons, page scrolls, and other functional buttons which are manipulated by pointing, clicking, and other movements of a mouse cursor on the screen. This type of user interface is typically cumbersome for mobile device users, and additionally takes up valuable screen space. Another difference between traditional computer devices and mobile devices is the screen size. Traditional computer devices have larger screens and often place a lot of content on each page. Because screen space is at such a premium, traditional web pages that include a lot of content may be best displayed on a mobile device by breaking the content up into different pages, or by using many of the features, such as sliding, that are already natural to mobile device users. In summary, the end result of using the same website for both traditional computers and for mobile devices may be poor presentation of, and/or user frustration with, the website on the mobile device, which may result in lost customers to the business owner of the website.
All of the aforementioned differences between the mobile device as compared to the desktop or laptop device can lead to fundamental differences in the design of a website that is intended for display on mobile devices versus the website that is intended for display on a traditional computer. A website optimized for a mobile device is characterized by at least one of several optimization features, including utilizing content that is less data-intensive, and provisioning the website with mobile-appropriate user interface features.
Unfortunately, however, the idea of having to design of a mobile-ready website that is separate and different from their traditional website can be daunting to many website owners, as such process can be both time-consuming and costly. In essence, the cost and time required to design a mobile-ready website may be on the same order as that of the design of the original website. It would therefore be desirable to have a way to quickly and automatically generate a mobile-ready website. It would further be desirable to automatically match the mobile-ready website such that at least some of the content, and the look and feel, match that of an existing website. It would further be desirable to have an interactive user interface for editing a mobile website. It would still further be desirable to automatically, or allow a user to, incorporate features, icons, and functionality accessible on the Internet (such as, but not limited to, links to social media accounts, click-to-call, maps, directions, etc.) into the mobile website and to automatically configure the mobile website to enable the functionality of such features.